WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.760 Jackie Huggins. Jackie is of the Bidjara people from central Queensland and the Birgubba Djudi people from north Queensland. 2 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:15.860 She's currently the Deputy Director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland, 3 00:00:16.900 --> 00:00:21.860 a member of the Board of Reconciliation Australia, the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, 4 00:00:22.240 --> 00:00:29.220 the State Library Board of Queensland, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Council, 5 00:00:29.220 --> 00:00:33.020 she's the Chair of Queensland's Domestic Violence Council, 6 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:39.700 and the Co-Commissioner of Queensland for the Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal Children. 7 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:46.920 Jackie is an historian and author, and she's also a remarkable woman, 8 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:52.580 and will now provide the first of the responses to Sir Ronald's address. 9 00:01:04.340 --> 00:01:06.400 Thank you very much, Philip. 10 00:01:06.720 --> 00:01:16.280 And let me begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the country, the Kaurna people, on whose land we are meeting tonight. 11 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:23.240 I acknowledge their ancient and continuing cultures and the role they play in the life of this region. 12 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:28.240 I also acknowledge those gone before us and those here today, 13 00:01:28.240 --> 00:01:34.680 who have suffered at the hands of assimilation policies and the search for peace and justice. 14 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:40.120 Thank you to Carl and Waiter Telford up the back there. 15 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:47.340 Thank you very much for the honourable welcome that we received here tonight, as well as with the little fella. 16 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.980 So thank you, little fella. I don't know your name, but it's to you. 17 00:01:52.080 --> 00:01:52.600 . 18 00:01:55.820 --> 00:01:58.220 And I'm especially blessed when I come to the 19 00:01:58.220 --> 00:02:05.380 Adelaide because I'm always feeling the presence of the Kaurna people and their wonderful and continuing culture. 20 00:02:05.620 --> 00:02:06.900 So thank you very much. 21 00:02:07.260 --> 00:02:14.920 To thank you all, too, for the opportunity to share and talk about the process of reconciliation in this country. 22 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:17.380 Is it in paralysis? 23 00:02:19.040 --> 00:02:24.020 I would like to argue that it's not certainly at a community level, 24 00:02:24.140 --> 00:02:26.280 but certainly at a political, 25 00:02:26.480 --> 00:02:27.000 ah, 26 00:02:27.660 --> 00:02:29.140 leadership in this country. 27 00:02:29.200 --> 00:02:33.580 Of course, we're stuck in a pause, as Sir Ronald aptly put it. 28 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:39.840 I was very proud also to serve as one of Sir Ronald's deputies in Queensland 29 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:47.880 on the inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and their communities. 30 00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:56.360 And every time I hear Sir Ronald talk about hearing the witness and the testimonies of those people, 31 00:02:57.040 --> 00:03:03.260 I often think about probably some counselling for my own self. 32 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:09.820 Because once you hear those horrible testimonies and stories, 33 00:03:10.440 --> 00:03:12.780 they remain with you forever. 34 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:21.920 And as Sir Ronald said, it is a life-changing transformation and exercise that each of us have been through. 35 00:03:22.440 --> 00:03:26.860 And I still very much live with the pain and live with the grief. 36 00:03:26.880 --> 00:03:26.980 . 37 00:03:26.980 --> 00:03:31.840 Of hearing those stories and still fighting for the justice for those people. 38 00:03:32.700 --> 00:03:35.980 In Queensland we have also National Sorry Day. 39 00:03:36.220 --> 00:03:42.520 And I spoke at Musgrave Park, as I always do when I'm at home, on National Sorry Day. 40 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:52.240 And I said to our people, I hope this year I don't have to come here and talk to you as a person at a National Sorry Day. 41 00:03:52.380 --> 00:03:56.740 I want it to be a national forgiveness or a national celebration. 42 00:03:56.740 --> 00:04:01.320 Because hopefully by then we would have received the apology. 43 00:04:01.940 --> 00:04:03.620 I still live in that hope. 44 00:04:03.760 --> 00:04:08.580 And I still believe an apology is one of the central tenements to reconciliation. 45 00:04:09.260 --> 00:04:18.600 Along with other issues such as native title, of reducing the severe social disadvantage that my people still face. 46 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:21.060 Along with a whole host of other things. 47 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:22.980 . 48 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:23.040 . 49 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:30.020 The Council has aptly described the historical context of the reconciliation process. 50 00:04:30.260 --> 00:04:36.980 The Council and now Reconciliation Australia Foundation, of which I am now a member of. 51 00:04:37.260 --> 00:04:40.780 I might say that we are a team of nine members. 52 00:04:41.060 --> 00:04:43.540 We are autonomous, we're independent. 53 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:51.020 We operate on a budget that the old Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation operated on for six months. 54 00:04:51.320 --> 00:04:51.480 . 55 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:56.300 We have a six month budget to operate for a lifetime. 56 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:06.300 Therefore we seek sponsorship and we seek the goodwill and the good grace of all Australians to support and to sponsor. 57 00:05:06.520 --> 00:05:12.760 So that we might be able to, in a very real way, keep driving the reconciliation process. 58 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.800 As you may have seen, we've not been much in the media at all. 59 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:19.560 Except when there are issues concerning our people. 60 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:29.060 The most recent issue has been that of family, domestic and sexual abuse within Indigenous communities. 61 00:05:30.940 --> 00:05:38.740 We have had, in a very real sense, the opportunity to take the high ground on this. 62 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:43.620 In terms of being able to say, what are we going to do about it? 63 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:44.920 Is this reconciliation? 64 00:05:45.500 --> 00:05:47.840 Will we keep letting this happen to our people? 65 00:05:47.840 --> 00:05:50.280 Are governments going to stop this? 66 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:58.880 Are people who are responsible for the relevant service providers and relevant organisations going to assist us? 67 00:05:59.140 --> 00:06:03.560 Well, let's use this as a test case for reconciliation. 68 00:06:04.260 --> 00:06:05.380 That's what it is. 69 00:06:05.440 --> 00:06:06.680 It's about forming partnerships. 70 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:08.920 It's about forming alliances. 71 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:11.480 And it's about fixing the problem. 72 00:06:12.020 --> 00:06:14.500 Well, we certainly want the problem fixed. 73 00:06:14.960 --> 00:06:16.840 And we certainly want to partner. 74 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:21.760 We certainly want to partner with those who can help us along the road. 75 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:28.820 I think Aidan Ridgway said recently, as yesterday, that reconciliation is here. 76 00:06:28.940 --> 00:06:29.940 It's here to stay. 77 00:06:30.520 --> 00:06:32.200 It's knocking at the door. 78 00:06:32.820 --> 00:06:34.980 And it certainly is knocking at the door. 79 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:37.040 We just want to be allowed to come in. 80 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:40.760 Come inside to the hearts and to the homes of people. 81 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:44.420 We think we've done that in a very real way compared to ten years ago. 82 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:48.160 But certainly there is still a very, very long way to go. 83 00:06:49.900 --> 00:06:56.020 As Sir Ronald mentioned, we saw millions of people walk across the bridges of Australia 84 00:06:56.760 --> 00:07:03.260 with a heartfelt glow about concern and justice for Indigenous Australians. 85 00:07:04.940 --> 00:07:08.120 We're saying, of course, that's still not enough. 86 00:07:08.340 --> 00:07:10.620 We still need to do something with that momentum. 87 00:07:11.400 --> 00:07:14.400 And the big question that I get asked all the time is, 88 00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:16.340 what now? What next? 89 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:21.040 The question is one that many Australians want answered. 90 00:07:21.380 --> 00:07:24.120 Aboriginal people, Torres Strait Islanders, 91 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.960 and people from all walks of life, from our diverse communities. 92 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:33.760 And it's the question that still challenges and still haunts all of us. 93 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.360 Because getting it right on reconciliation is vital to our future together 94 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:43.840 and to our nation's sense of identity, purpose and pride. 95 00:07:44.400 --> 00:07:47.920 It's also the right thing to do. 96 00:07:51.400 --> 00:07:54.660 The public outpouring of public support we saw last year 97 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:58.620 showed that reconciliation truly had become a people's movement 98 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:00.720 with a relentless momentum. 99 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:05.220 The challenge for all of us now is to translate that momentum 100 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:08.980 into tangible outcomes which will make a real difference 101 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:12.540 to the lives and the circumstances of Indigenous peoples. 102 00:08:12.540 --> 00:08:17.980 Such outcomes will be the measure of the progress towards true reconciliation. 103 00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:25.040 The current debate at the moment has two extremes. 104 00:08:25.380 --> 00:08:31.440 One verges on a new assimilationism which really says that Indigenous people 105 00:08:31.440 --> 00:08:34.200 should give up their own communities and cultures 106 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:38.140 and be like the rest of us, of you. 107 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:42.480 At the other end, an abstract and undefined 108 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:42.520 and unambiguous debate about the future of Indigenous people. 109 00:08:42.520 --> 00:08:42.800 The second is that the new and unambiguous debate 110 00:08:42.800 --> 00:08:45.520 on the rights agenda is promoted which is remote 111 00:08:45.520 --> 00:08:48.480 from the day-to-day concerns of Indigenous peoples. 112 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:53.480 And also risks disconnecting the essential public debate 113 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:57.260 on Indigenous rights from the broad people's movement 114 00:08:57.260 --> 00:08:59.720 whose support is most critical. 115 00:09:02.380 --> 00:09:06.660 In recent weeks, some commentators have focused on harsh realities 116 00:09:06.660 --> 00:09:11.660 facing Indigenous people, including poverty, substance abuse, 117 00:09:11.660 --> 00:09:17.180 alcoholism and particularly domestic, family and sexual violence 118 00:09:17.180 --> 00:09:18.760 within our own communities. 119 00:09:20.660 --> 00:09:22.980 And the inadequate outcomes and responses 120 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:24.940 from poorly coordinated programs. 121 00:09:26.660 --> 00:09:31.140 A common thread of the various commentators is that everyday circumstances 122 00:09:31.660 --> 00:09:35.520 of too many Indigenous families and communities are unacceptable. 123 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:41.200 Unacceptable by anyone's standards in an insane, 124 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:42.800 and a sane Australia. 125 00:09:44.180 --> 00:09:49.300 The tragedy is that while sometimes bitter and ideological debates rages, 126 00:09:49.560 --> 00:09:53.180 many Indigenous people continue to suffer and die. 127 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:57.360 Unfortunately, the accusations and counter-accusations 128 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:02.640 command more attention than views and proposals based on local experience. 129 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.900 In particular, we want the latest crisis in Aboriginal affairs. 130 00:10:09.900 --> 00:10:14.660 That of domestic sexual and sexual violence. 131 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:22.300 To become a test case about how will we all work together to fix it. 132 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:27.260 That will be the challenge for us in the next couple of months, 133 00:10:27.380 --> 00:10:28.060 I should imagine. 134 00:10:30.060 --> 00:10:35.760 We should be concerned certainly with people and not theory. 135 00:10:36.160 --> 00:10:39.620 And recognise that no single theory or action 136 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:41.160 is going to solve it. 137 00:10:41.380 --> 00:10:45.900 The diversity of Indigenous lives today does not lend itself so easily. 138 00:10:48.420 --> 00:10:57.580 To finish, we know that the Council now has ended its work. 139 00:10:57.880 --> 00:11:00.700 And our foundation, Reconciliation Australia, 140 00:11:01.040 --> 00:11:04.620 certainly has some core responsibilities from where to now. 141 00:11:05.060 --> 00:11:08.840 Yet as always, Australia's journey toward true reconciliation 142 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:13.020 lies in the hands of people and of all governments, peak bodies 143 00:11:13.020 --> 00:11:16.220 and community organisations which represent them 144 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:17.860 and are responsible to them. 145 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:21.780 We cannot, we cannot hope to do it alone. 146 00:11:23.820 --> 00:11:29.640 We ask for all your support in continuing the work of reconciliation. 147 00:11:30.500 --> 00:11:36.140 The way that it is obviously the good news stories 148 00:11:36.140 --> 00:11:38.500 that we often hear around our communities. 149 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:40.300 We are not getting in the media. 150 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:44.060 There are some very vital and some very interesting things 151 00:11:44.060 --> 00:11:45.380 that are happening around our country. 152 00:11:45.560 --> 00:11:50.220 And through partnerships, we are forming a lot of alliances around the country. 153 00:11:50.560 --> 00:11:54.400 However, without the goodwill and the intent 154 00:11:55.060 --> 00:12:01.500 and of course the absolute support from those in leadership, 155 00:12:01.660 --> 00:12:05.360 the very highest echelons, we cannot hope to move any forward. 156 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:06.140 Thank you. 157 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:19.820 Thank you very much. 158 00:12:22.380 --> 00:12:26.660 Though a farmer, it never occurred to me for a nanosecond 159 00:12:26.660 --> 00:12:30.160 to join the National Farmers' Federation. 160 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:34.520 I always regarded them as sort of a eucalyptic variant 161 00:12:34.520 --> 00:12:37.400 on America's National Rifle Association. 162 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:42.120 Until I met Rick Farley. 163 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.540 Now, to meet Rick in that context was a bit like discovering 164 00:12:45.540 --> 00:12:48.600 that Christopher Pearson and Paddy McGuinness 165 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:50.580 had joined the Australian Ballet. 166 00:12:55.780 --> 00:12:58.060 How Farley got the job, 167 00:12:58.140 --> 00:13:00.120 and he was also running at the same time 168 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:02.900 the Cattlemen's Union of Australia, 169 00:13:03.960 --> 00:13:06.780 makes the mind boggle, but he did it brilliantly. 170 00:13:06.780 --> 00:13:08.720 And he went on to facilitate 171 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.180 the Cape York Land Use Heads of Agreement. 172 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:15.520 He pioneered the National Land Care Program with the ACF. 173 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:20.260 He was a key figure in the passage of the Native Title Act in 1993. 174 00:13:21.400 --> 00:13:23.660 And it was briefly my pleasure to work with Rick 175 00:13:23.660 --> 00:13:25.920 at the Commission for the Future, 176 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.760 which was an outfit set up by my dear friend Barry Jones 177 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:30.680 in the Hawke government, 178 00:13:30.780 --> 00:13:33.460 and the Commission for the Future ran out of future, 179 00:13:33.560 --> 00:13:35.220 which I thought was very symbolic for Australia. 180 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:42.280 Rick has been a member of the National Native Title Tribunal, 181 00:13:42.400 --> 00:13:44.440 the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, 182 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:50.560 is now the Managing Director of the Farley Consulting Group, 183 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.120 which specialises in land use agreements. 184 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:55.480 Look, his CV goes on for miles. 185 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:56.720 It's like a Superman movie. 186 00:13:56.780 --> 00:13:57.320 His credits. 187 00:13:57.660 --> 00:13:59.720 And I welcome him to the microphone. 188 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:12.720 Well, good evening, everyone. 189 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:18.060 I'd also like to acknowledge the Kaurna people 190 00:14:18.060 --> 00:14:20.520 as the traditional owners of the country where we meet tonight, 191 00:14:21.660 --> 00:14:26.760 and to pay respect to their culture and to their elders. 192 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:33.460 I've worked in politics for 25 years. 193 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:39.040 My degree is actually in English drama and literature. 194 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:44.660 Some people have suggested that's a terrific grounding for politics. 195 00:14:47.900 --> 00:14:53.400 Theatre of the absurd, black comedy, and so on. 196 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:58.860 But one of the things that I value the most out of that 25 years 197 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:02.080 is that I've had the rare privilege of being able to see issues 198 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:03.440 from the past 25 years. 199 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:05.840 I've seen issues from different sides of the political fence. 200 00:15:07.040 --> 00:15:10.740 I've seen issues from the perspective of farmers. 201 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:15.580 I've seen the same issues from the perspective of environmentalists. 202 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:20.180 Issues from the perspective of Aboriginal people. 203 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:24.640 And also, through my term on the Native Title Tribunal, 204 00:15:25.560 --> 00:15:26.360 the legal perspective. 205 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:31.060 So let me respond briefly 206 00:15:31.060 --> 00:15:33.440 to what Sir Ronald had to say 207 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:35.440 in these terms. 208 00:15:37.020 --> 00:15:39.020 First of all, he posed the question, 209 00:15:39.180 --> 00:15:40.020 what's changed? 210 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:44.800 For a lot of Aboriginal people, 211 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:47.560 the answer is nothing. 212 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:49.300 Nothing's changed. 213 00:15:50.400 --> 00:15:52.640 As a result of the reconciliation process. 214 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:55.940 And we need to bear in mind that 215 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:58.980 the reconciliation process in itself is a compromise. 216 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:01.820 You may recall that the Hawke government came to power 217 00:16:01.820 --> 00:16:03.240 promising national land rights. 218 00:16:04.040 --> 00:16:04.880 Never happened. 219 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.280 There was then going to be a treaty or Makarrata. 220 00:16:07.460 --> 00:16:08.300 Never happened. 221 00:16:09.060 --> 00:16:11.980 Instead, there was a 10-year process of reconciliation. 222 00:16:14.880 --> 00:16:16.260 If you look around today, 223 00:16:16.380 --> 00:16:19.220 Aboriginal people are 2% of the national population. 224 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:22.540 They're 40% of the prison population in New South Wales. 225 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:29.420 If you look at the percentage in jail under 15, 226 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.200 it's 60% in New South Wales. 227 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:35.560 We've all heard the statistics 228 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:38.600 which deal with social disadvantage, 229 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:42.480 life expectancy, employment, and so on. 230 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:44.660 And that is a shameful record 231 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:46.880 for a country like Australia. 232 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:48.500 A shameful record. 233 00:16:50.020 --> 00:16:52.140 There is only one Aboriginal person 234 00:16:52.140 --> 00:16:53.640 in federal parliament. 235 00:16:55.560 --> 00:16:58.900 There's been no apology to the stolen generation. 236 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:02.020 There's been no response from the parliament 237 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:04.920 yet, or from any of the political parties, 238 00:17:05.620 --> 00:17:07.200 to the report and recommendations 239 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:09.980 of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. 240 00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:17.020 I live in Sydney at the moment, 241 00:17:17.080 --> 00:17:20.960 and I occasionally go down to Redfern, to the block. 242 00:17:23.100 --> 00:17:26.020 And I've seen kids of 12 243 00:17:26.020 --> 00:17:29.140 picking up used syringes out of the gutter 244 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:32.180 and injecting themselves to cigarettes. 245 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:33.740 I don't see if there's anything left in the bottom of it. 246 00:17:35.100 --> 00:17:36.700 I've seen kids of that age 247 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:40.120 selling themselves into prostitution for drugs. 248 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:42.760 As Jackie mentioned, 249 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.400 it's been revealed publicly, I guess, 250 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:47.540 or exposed publicly. 251 00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:53.240 Domestic violence is still rife. 252 00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:56.920 It's still a huge problem for Aboriginal communities. 253 00:17:58.780 --> 00:18:01.540 But you've got to ask yourself why those things happen. 254 00:18:01.540 --> 00:18:04.680 And the conclusion that I'm forced to 255 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:07.200 is that successive generations of Australians, 256 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:09.040 successive parliaments, 257 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:12.240 have been unable to restore hope 258 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:14.180 to Aboriginal people, 259 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:16.920 to Indigenous people in this country. 260 00:18:17.040 --> 00:18:18.240 And in the absence of hope, 261 00:18:19.020 --> 00:18:20.600 people seek recourse 262 00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:24.460 in substance abuse, alcohol, and so on. 263 00:18:24.540 --> 00:18:25.880 It leads to domestic violence. 264 00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:27.900 It leads to break-up of family units. 265 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:31.520 So the question is, 266 00:18:31.520 --> 00:18:33.120 the question we've got to ask ourselves is, 267 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:34.500 what are we going to do about it? 268 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:36.940 Have we gone far enough? No. 269 00:18:37.020 --> 00:18:39.600 We've had some attitudinal changes, yes. 270 00:18:40.620 --> 00:18:42.160 But that's not enough. 271 00:18:42.860 --> 00:18:44.600 The material circumstances, 272 00:18:45.060 --> 00:18:46.720 the life circumstances 273 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.300 of most Aboriginal people in this country 274 00:18:49.300 --> 00:18:51.740 have not changed very much at all. 275 00:18:53.860 --> 00:18:55.000 So what's the agenda? 276 00:18:57.500 --> 00:19:00.300 It seems to me that there's a number of components of the agenda. 277 00:19:00.300 --> 00:19:01.640 The first has got to be education, 278 00:19:02.740 --> 00:19:05.840 so that there is a true and accurate history of this country 279 00:19:05.840 --> 00:19:06.960 taught in our schools. 280 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:09.000 It wasn't taught to me. 281 00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:13.400 The second part of it, of course, 282 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:14.620 is going to be a rights agenda, 283 00:19:15.420 --> 00:19:17.980 which will continue to be pursued in the courts 284 00:19:19.280 --> 00:19:21.300 and in changes to the Constitution, 285 00:19:21.560 --> 00:19:22.560 perhaps with a treaty, 286 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:25.220 certainly in a debate about a Bill of Rights, 287 00:19:26.020 --> 00:19:29.680 which will accompany the extension of the Republican debate. 288 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.540 And the third component has got to be to redress disadvantage. 289 00:19:37.260 --> 00:19:39.640 But let me make some observations to you 290 00:19:40.300 --> 00:19:43.920 about some of the things that I've come to understand 291 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:47.020 over the last 10 or 15 years in particular. 292 00:19:49.340 --> 00:19:52.240 The first is, and it's self-evident when you think about it, 293 00:19:52.280 --> 00:19:54.320 that when we're dealing with Aboriginal people, 294 00:19:54.420 --> 00:19:56.280 we're dealing with a different culture. 295 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:57.840 It's as simple as that. 296 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:00.280 And the priorities of Aboriginal people, 297 00:20:00.300 --> 00:20:02.520 aren't necessarily going to be our priorities. 298 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:05.240 Or our priorities certainly may not be theirs. 299 00:20:09.860 --> 00:20:12.140 Gullaroy Unupingu is a senior lawman 300 00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:14.240 in northern Australia, in Arnhem Land. 301 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:16.500 I had a discussion with him once, 302 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.600 and you know how you have those discussions 303 00:20:18.600 --> 00:20:20.940 and something comes at you totally out of left field, 304 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:23.680 and you think, wow, I've never really thought of it 305 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:24.820 in those terms before. 306 00:20:26.120 --> 00:20:27.520 But I was talking to Gullaroy once, 307 00:20:27.620 --> 00:20:29.660 it was during the Native Title debate, and I said to him, 308 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:30.880 Gullaroy, you're a senior lawman, 309 00:20:31.100 --> 00:20:33.080 it would help if you could release some information 310 00:20:33.660 --> 00:20:34.940 about connection with land, 311 00:20:35.560 --> 00:20:38.040 because out of information will come some better understanding, 312 00:20:38.300 --> 00:20:40.180 out of understanding will come a better debate. 313 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:43.360 And I thought that was a pretty reasonable proposition 314 00:20:43.360 --> 00:20:44.640 to put from my point of view. 315 00:20:45.020 --> 00:20:47.540 Information equals understanding equals a better debate. 316 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:51.340 There was a pause, and Gullaroy just looked at me for a while, 317 00:20:51.380 --> 00:20:54.700 and he said, why do you white fellows have to know everything? 318 00:20:57.600 --> 00:20:58.000 Okay? 319 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:00.400 And that is one of the essential things 320 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:02.480 that I think we've all got to understand. 321 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:06.260 One of the biggest cultural hurdles, I think, 322 00:21:06.260 --> 00:21:08.200 that non-Indigenous people have got to jump over 323 00:21:09.100 --> 00:21:13.880 in this whole debate is to accept and to respect something 324 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:15.920 which we're never going to understand. 325 00:21:18.280 --> 00:21:18.760 APPLAUSE 326 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:29.240 The second point to ponder. 327 00:21:29.860 --> 00:21:32.880 Public administration in this country is highly centralised. 328 00:21:33.060 --> 00:21:35.420 The way that deals get done and business gets done 329 00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:37.400 is the government sits down with peak councils, 330 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:40.360 cuts the deal, both sides implement their side of the equation. 331 00:21:41.840 --> 00:21:44.900 And I'd argue that ATSIC is a white-fella attempt 332 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:49.120 to impose that kind of peak council structure on Aboriginal people. 333 00:21:49.300 --> 00:21:50.440 There's only one problem with that. 334 00:21:50.540 --> 00:21:53.200 Under Aboriginal law, no-one can talk for anyone else's country. 335 00:21:54.020 --> 00:21:57.980 So the prospect of a peak council to represent all Aboriginal people, 336 00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:00.240 is a white-fella concept. 337 00:22:02.040 --> 00:22:05.460 So one of the tensions that exists in this country, in my view, 338 00:22:05.560 --> 00:22:08.420 is the tension between a highly centralised system 339 00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:09.340 of public administration 340 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:15.440 and the need to deal, certainly with Indigenous issues, 341 00:22:15.580 --> 00:22:17.660 and I'd also argue probably with environment issues 342 00:22:17.660 --> 00:22:18.860 and a range of other issues, 343 00:22:19.100 --> 00:22:22.340 the need to deal with them on a regional or local basis. 344 00:22:23.300 --> 00:22:25.000 And I think that's one of the big challenges 345 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:26.580 that we've got to deal with. 346 00:22:27.860 --> 00:22:29.500 So coming back to the agenda, 347 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.680 after those sort of wider observations, 348 00:22:32.080 --> 00:22:33.380 what are some other parts of it? 349 00:22:35.760 --> 00:22:38.500 Firstly, I think we've got to regionalise administration 350 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:39.860 and decision-making. 351 00:22:40.100 --> 00:22:41.020 That's part of it. 352 00:22:42.460 --> 00:22:44.100 Secondly, and at the same time, 353 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:47.020 we've got to build up skills and capacities within the regions 354 00:22:47.020 --> 00:22:48.680 to be able to deal with that agenda. 355 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:54.920 Recently established has been an Australian institute... 356 00:22:56.080 --> 00:22:56.560 ..a... 357 00:22:56.580 --> 00:22:58.420 ..an Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre, 358 00:22:58.560 --> 00:23:01.720 which Mick Dodson is the chair of at the moment. 359 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.580 And that Indigenous Leader Centre 360 00:23:05.580 --> 00:23:10.480 is aiming to build the skills and capacities of Aboriginal people 361 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.780 so they can better respond to the tensions in public administration. 362 00:23:14.580 --> 00:23:18.220 Part of it also, I think, has got to be to build business partnerships, 363 00:23:18.560 --> 00:23:20.160 create Aboriginal businesses, 364 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:24.040 create employment in regional areas of Australia for Aboriginal people. 365 00:23:26.580 --> 00:23:29.480 Part of it has also got to be that ephemeral thing, 366 00:23:29.520 --> 00:23:30.780 a whole-of-government response. 367 00:23:32.340 --> 00:23:33.680 It's very difficult sometimes. 368 00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:42.420 But in the last analysis, let me put it to you this way. 369 00:23:42.580 --> 00:23:44.960 I think there is a unique opportunity 370 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:47.460 over the next six months or so, 371 00:23:47.520 --> 00:23:50.120 because at the end of this year, there's going to be a federal election. 372 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:54.180 And if there's one thing that politicians can do, they can count. 373 00:23:58.620 --> 00:23:59.200 And that's to build a national leadership system. 374 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:00.260 So I agree with Ron Wilson 375 00:24:00.260 --> 00:24:05.800 that the paralysis that exists is in national leadership. 376 00:24:06.020 --> 00:24:07.600 I don't see it at community level. 377 00:24:07.760 --> 00:24:10.220 I don't see it in all the people who are here tonight. 378 00:24:10.760 --> 00:24:14.660 I don't see it in all of the people who walked over the bridges last year. 379 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:20.200 I don't see it in the formation of local reconciliation groups 380 00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:21.120 throughout this country. 381 00:24:21.900 --> 00:24:24.500 So I think the real challenge is really with us 382 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.720 over the next six months or so. 383 00:24:26.780 --> 00:24:31.100 It's to firstly accept that politicians rarely lead. 384 00:24:31.280 --> 00:24:31.860 They follow. 385 00:24:32.860 --> 00:24:34.400 They look at the opinion polls. 386 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:38.100 They get their polling out of marginal seats. 387 00:24:38.360 --> 00:24:40.000 And they see what the issues are, 388 00:24:40.120 --> 00:24:41.500 and then they respond to those issues. 389 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:45.760 So in that context, the ball's really in our court. 390 00:24:46.620 --> 00:24:48.800 The People's Movement for Reconciliation 391 00:24:48.800 --> 00:24:52.060 has a marvellous opportunity in the coming months 392 00:24:53.300 --> 00:24:54.480 to demand a voice. 393 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:55.620 And it's to give all of the political parties 394 00:24:55.620 --> 00:24:57.200 some very simple things. 395 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.720 For instance, what is the response of the Labor Party, 396 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.580 the Liberal Party, the National Party, the Democrats, 397 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:07.880 to the recommendations in the final report 398 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:10.020 of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation? 399 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:15.360 What is the response of each of the political parties 400 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:19.100 to the recommendations in Ron's Bringing Them Home report? 401 00:25:21.260 --> 00:25:23.720